Reserved
by Softly Spoken Words
Summary: Inuyasha, a celebrity of simple tastes who hardly cares about anything enough to do more than go with the flow, knows he can count on his manager Kagome for reliability, predictability, and a job well done…and then he finds out he doesn't know her as well as he'd like to claim he does.
1. Ramen Enthusiasts

Reserved

Summary: Inuyasha, a celebrity of simple tastes who hardly cares about anything enough to do more than go with the flow, knows he can count on his manager Kagome for reliability, predictability, and a job well done…and then he finds out he doesn't know her as well as he'd like to claim he does.

AN: This is my first fanfiction in six years! Whoo it's been a long time... For any of my past readers who were waiting on my old story Take a Chance on Me, I am so sorry, but I couldn't work with it anymore. I have been struggling a lot in the creative department (as you can see, six years have passed), but I have high hopes for this new story! I hope you enjoy it. I also have another idea brewing and will probably post soon or mention it in an upcoming chapter to get your feedback on it.

One last thing: I am just going to say now that the summary, which can probably be read in a few different ways, is not intended to hint at any darkness in the story, and if you were expecting that, I am sorry to disappoint. I am a big fan of romantic comedy and fluff and after six years I don't think I'd be up for all that darkness yet. Given time, maybe? We'll see. Well, enough of my rambling… read on if you please, and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter One: Ramen Enthusiasts

"KA-OME," a loud voice hollered from the second story of the large mansion, mouth full of toothpaste, "WHEY ISH MY—"

The young woman scrolled through her iPhone, checking her emails and planned events for the day. "Top drawer in the dresser by the closet." _Need to reschedule that appointment to Wednesday…_ She didn't bother to yell back, knowing full well that the half-demon's superb hearing would catch what she said.

She heard the faucet turn off, a loud thud, a string of curses she wouldn't dare repeat, some more thuds, and the sound of a door opening. No thank you, but that was to be expected. She looked at her watch and whistled lowly. "You're ready _only_ thirty minutes after I told you to be. This is _marked_ improvement, Inuyasha."

The half-demon grumbled as he hurried down the stairs. "Bite me. It's too damn early for your sarcasm."

"Lucky for you, I know to set your deadlines well in advance." Kagome commented dryly. "Come on, the driver's waiting, and I know you don't want to be late for your commercial shooting!"

"Keh."

* * *

"_Gulp gulp_. I wouldn't be able to make it through an hour on set if I didn't have this stuff." Inuyasha held the bottle up to eye level, looked at it, and turned to look at the camera with a big smirk. "I'm an army of one, but I've got the strength of a band of seven. All thanks to Jakotsjuice!"

"And… CUT! Thank you Inuyasha that was great, darling, just fabulous!" The feminine man gushed and his red lips curled into a large smile. "It was everything I hoped for!"

Kagome watched in amusement as Jakotsu, creator of Jakotsjuice, fawned over Inuyasha and the latter met her eyes with a desperate plea. _Get. Me. Out. Of. Here._ It was no secret that Jakotsu was gay and had an enormous crush on the half-demon actor, and with a job as demanding as hers, she needed someone to humor her every now and then to give her a bit of a break. Now, she wasn't complaining. She loved her job, and she did it damn well. However, managing Inuyasha, one of the biggest action movie stars in Japan, was no easy feat. He was temperamental, stubborn, often childish, and gruff, and his personality required immense patience. On top of spending more time with him than anyone else in her life, she was coordinating all his professional and personal appointments, securing his sponsorships, rectifying false rumors, managing his social media accounts (the man would probably post about ramen and caption it "Keh" for goodness sake), managing _his _romantic relationships… The list goes on.

_Well I guess this is better than working at Totosai's ramen shop. The pay is _definitely _better._ Strangely enough, two years ago, Inuyasha had sat in a secluded booth in the aforementioned shop and gruffly asked her, head faced down towards the table, what she recommended. In retrospect, he had tried his best to conceal his identity that day; he wore a cap to cover his signature dog ears, sunglasses, and casual clothes. When she was unable to hear what he said, he moved his face up and repeated the question, and his figure tensed up as if he were anticipating a catastrophe to occur.

She gasped and he started to scramble out of his seat. "You have got beautiful eyes! Well anyway, to answer your question…" Puzzled, Inuyasha sat back down as Kagome went on to list the specialties of the day as well as some items on the secret menu. When she finished, she noticed the man before her had his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"You don't know who I am?"

"Um… You're a customer? A fellow ramen enthusiast? A—"

"Great. I'll have the specialty of the day."

When Kagome went to clean up his table after he left, she noticed the business card tucked under his finished bowl of ramen. "If you're tired of noodles, call this number tonight when you get off work. –Inuyasha"

She called later that night and found out she had actually served a famous action movie actor (and not some ordinary ramen enthusiast) and that he was interested in hiring her as his manager because one, she didn't fall all over him as many girls did, and two, because of her extensive knowledge of ramen. She accepted the position immediately, and she thanked her lucky stars that night that she had never grown a huge interest in action movies and was too busy working and going to school to watch the television. She also thanked the creator of ramen because really, she owed it all to him.

Her phone vibrated in her hands, bringing her out of memory lane and back to reality. On the screen it read: "Date with Yura. Buy basket of hair products on the way for stupid 1st monthaversary."

She gathered her things and started walking towards the exit. "Inuyasha, would you stop dawdling for once?! You have a date!"

The actor sputtered indignantly. "ME?! You were the one—Hey I was talking to you wench-!"

Kagome's exasperated voice rang from outside the studio door that was quickly closing. "See what I mean? Dawdling again!"


	2. Routine

A/N: Thank you for the reviews/follows/favorites, each one warmed my heart. I am going to be busy with school and so I will try to update as quickly as I can. Rest assured, this story will be completed! So without further ado, here is chapter 2!

* * *

Chapter Two: Routine

"Oh Inuyasha would you quit glaring at me?" Kagome said. "It's not like you see Jakotsu all the time, you can't blame me for wanting to humor myself a little."

"A little?!" His eyebrow ticked. "Fucking wench, you KNOW he gives me the creeps! Next time you leave me with him too long I'll fire you!"

By the time he said "A" she had already started ignoring him. She looked at the basket beside her, filled with hair care products for the current girlfriend of the action movie star currently sitting across from her in the limousine. _Hairspray, check… mousse, check… argon oil… texture spray… hair wax… dry shampoo… check, check, check. Why Kagome, you have done it again!_ The manager sighed happily to herself, eyes closed with a satisfied smile gracing her face.

Inuyasha's eye twitched. Not only was this wench ignoring him, she probably was doing that stupid self-praise thing. Curse him for letting her talk him into that stupid healthy living workshop.

"Oi! Did you hear what I said?!"

Kagome snapped out of her daily self-praise time and glared at him. "Yes, almighty boss of mine. You'll fire me next time. Funny that I've heard that the time before this, and the time before the time before this, and the time before that…" She counted off each time he threatened to fire her on her fingers. "Well look at that, I've ran out of fingers!" She giggled as the half-demon glared at her.

"You know, one of these days, you're really gonna regret leaving me with him." He grumbled and glared out the tinted windows, arms crossed over his chest.

She laughed at the disgruntled actor and moved to sit next to him. She reached up and tweaked his silver furry ear. "Yeah, and you're gonna regret threatening to fire me so much. You and I both know you can't get on without me. On top of that, you would miss me too much. And what's worse, you probably wouldn't even be able to maintain any of your relationships. So let's face it, you're pretty much hopeless without me Dog Boy." She stretched her legs out to the seat across from her and put her hands behind her head. Closing her eyes, she said, "Luckily for you, I am such a kind soul and can't bear to ignore the desperate pleas of help from a devastated soul such as yours."

Immediately, claws attacked her sides mercilessly, moving quickly but lightly to tickle the girl. Kagome laughed and managed to speak between bouts of gasps and laughter, "Okay… white… fl-ahhhg I SURRENDER!"

Inuyasha smirked and stopped his tickle attack on his poor manager, who was much more of a mothering best friend to him than simply a manager.

"You're a jerk, you know that?"

"And you're a wench, you know that?"

She beamed at him. "Yeah well, I'm _your_ wench, if that's any consolation."

"Yeah, yeah, I guess I'm your jerk too," he grumbled jokingly trying hard to suppress the smile threatening to turn at the corners of his lips.

"Aw come on, Inuyasha, I know you want to smile." Kagome put two fingers on either side of his mouth and pushed the corners up and saw a quick glimpse of the real smile on his lips before he furiously turned away from her.

"Dumb wench."

"_Your_ dumb wench." She corrected.

Kagome spared a side glance at the tinted window Inuyasha was facing and saw a little grin on his face. She smiled quietly to herself as she scrolled through the appointments on her phone. This was what they always did after Kagome had particularly antagonized the poor half-demon—the bickering, the threats, the jokes, the tickling, and the smiles. Always in that order.

Anyone looking in at the wrong time might think the argument was actually serious, but the two knew better. It was an inside joke, reserved just for them…

…And maybe the driver too. Drivers always seem to be very informed.

* * *

After dropping Inuyasha off at his date with Yura, Kagome returned to the actor's home. He had always been very generous, albeit through gestures and not verbally, about his home always being open to Kagome. She had her own room if she ever worked late nights, and the help around the house felt a lot more like family. Since her own was located an hour away from Tokyo, she didn't get to see them as much as she'd like, and it was nice to have a close bond with a group of people she saw frequently.

"Will you be staying the night, Miss Kagome? If so, I can ready your room for you," the elderly maid Kaede offered.

"You know, I think I will. It's pretty late and I'm sure Inuyasha will have tons to gripe about after this date." Kagome snickered to herself. "On top of Inuyasha never being able to keep a relationship, Yura is a freak."

"My twelve-year-old grandson has better luck with girls than that lad." Kaede smiled, a twinkle in her eye. "Though it doesn't surprise me, Inuyasha is rather hopeless without you."

"Oh, don't I know it! He is such a child! I was trying to—"

"Who's a child wench?!"

Kaede hurried up the stairs to Kagome's room, not out of fear of Inuyasha's wrath (because it was very shallow and short lived) but because she knew that once those two were in a room together, the presence of others would be quickly forgotten.

"Inuyasha, back so soon?" Kagome quickly evaded answering his question with her own. She gave him a sugary sweet smile that only deepened his scowl. "So how was the date?"

"Keh. I was getting tired of that girl touching my damn hair! And all her cleavage makes her look so cheap." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I told her I had an important business affair and I would call her later."

Code for: Kagome, do your magic. Meaning: Kagome, dump the broad. Do whatever you have to do. I'll give you a raise if it's a hassle.

"Really, Inuyasha?" Kagome let out an exasperated sigh. "It's only been a month…"

"A month too damn long. You know, if girls would just be like you minus the annoying, salary requiring, domineering, sadistic—did I mention annoying?—parts then life would just be so much easier."

"…Thanks for the backhanded compliment, jerk."

"Anytime, wench. Call her tonight please, before she finds some way to get a hold of my hair and do that creepy voodoo shit on me for breaking up with her. Even though you're technically the one who's doing it."

"You know, this goes against _everything _I stand for. Women should be treated with dignity and respect not as expendable sex objects!" Inuyasha looked at her pointedly. "…Fine, but I want Chinese for dinner."

"Sellout."

She smiled cheekily. "For damn good pay. And for that comment, you better get two orders of the honey walnut shrimp!"

He grumbled something about manipulative women as Kagome dialed Yura's number.

* * *

An hour later, Kagome and Inuyasha were seated on the carpeted floor of his room with Styrofoam boxes of warm Chinese take-out opened between them.

"You know, I don't think I get paid enough. I have to somehow manage to convince these ex-girlfriends of yours that you have their best interests in mind so that publicly, you're a nice guy, when in fact you don't really care about these girls and you're actually a real jerk sometimes—" She ignored the glare he shot her, "—when it comes to breaking up with girls."

"Keh. What'd you tell her?"

"Said you'll be busy with a lot of projects and that you wouldn't be able to give her the attention a woman like her so rightfully deserves. I also added that the phone call would have been too hard for you to make, and that your poor little puppy dog heart would burst into a bajillion Scooby snacks. She seemed to buy it enough." Kagome shrugged, popping a honey walnut shrimp into her mouth, either unaware of the glare Inuyasha was giving her or too accustomed to it to notice. "I don't think it phased her much to be honest. I was under the impression she already missed your hair more than she missed you." She snickered as Inuyasha shuddered.

They ate in silence for a bit before Kagome broke the solitude with a question.

"Say, Inuyasha, what are you looking for in a girl anyway?"

He eyed her suspiciously. "Whatcha asking for?"

"Well, all your relationships since I've managed you have failed miserably. I just wanted to know if there was a particular reason why. I mean you must not like something about them right? Maybe I could match you up with a nice girl!" _And potentially take some work off my load… Gosh Kagome that is two times today! You are just two clever for your own good! Ha, two not too! That's three! Stop, you're on a roll! _She mentally patted her back.

"Um… She has to be nice. And smell good. And not touch my hair too much." Inuyasha wracked his brain for more criteria. "And not be ugly." He smiled, obviously satisfied with his answer. "I guess that's all I've got right now."

Kagome's mouth twitched, whether from humor, incredulity, or both she wasn't sure. _He really is worse than a twelve-year-old…_ "Well I guess I have something to work with…"

"What about you?"

The question caught her a bit by surprise. "What about me?"

"Yeah, what do you like in a guy?"

"Well… He has to be funny for one. Nice, gets along with my family, is stable. Treats me well and rubs my feet after my long days working for a horrible boss man like you," she laughed as he growled. "And listens to me complain about said horrible boss man. Okay okay, I'm kidding! No tickling please!"

"That has got to be the worst answer I've ever heard. Possibly worse than mine."

She glared at him. "I'll get back to you with a better answer then, horrible boss man. It's kind of hard to be specific about what you want when you don't have much experience to go off of, you know. Though I don't think you could use the same excuse…"

"Keh. Who needs lousy experience when you can learn from others' mistakes?"

"Oh, that's right! Okay well in that case, I have a better answer. Someone who is the opposite of you!"

The tickle attack came the moment she finished saying the word "you."

"I-Inuy-yasha oh-kaaay… I'm so-SORRY! White flag! White flag! White flag!" He ceased his ministrations to give her a moment to catch her breath.

"That'll teach you, wench!"

"You wanted my honest opinion!"

"I am a decent guy you know!"

"I think boy would be the more accurate term for you!"

Kagome saw Inuyasha's golden eyes gleamed mischievously and his clawed hands raised with evil promises of tickle torture.

"Okay truce, I don't know how much more I can take today! How about… anytime I think of something serious I'll let you know? And you let me know, too."

"Keh." That was as good as any yes to Kagome. Yet another ritual added to their routine with each other.

"Well if you're done attacking me, I'm heading to my room to sleep. It's been a long day and we have a full day ahead of us tomorrow!" She cleaned up the empty boxes of food and got up, pausing to throw away the trash in the bin near the door. She turned and flashed Inuyasha a smile. "Goodnight, jerk."

He appeared to be sleeping on the floor, eyes closed, hands resting comfortably over his very full stomach.

She shook her head and laughed quietly to herself. "Food coma already? Fat dog."

"_Your_ fat dog." The half-demon murmured and opened one eye as he watched Kagome walked out of the room giggling.

_Damn girl giggles at everything I say. Hm. Guess that means I'm funny…_

He fell asleep not long after, a small corner of his mouth quirked upwards.

* * *

A/N: (The line break won't insert here properly, it is driving me nuts! -_-) As always, reviews make an author happy! Constructive criticism definitely welcomed. Hope you all enjoyed chapter two. I apologize for the lack of action, but I do need to establish some things and I want to make sure that things seem realistic and nothing is too rushed.

-SSW


	3. Time is Money

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I was so thrilled to see the response after posting chapter two and I can only hope you all will be as responsive with this chapter. Thank you to all those who reviewed/followed/favorited and a special thanks to loyal reviewers ^_^ I also posted another story last month and it would be great if you all took a look at it! It's a collection of related one-shots, featuring Inuyasha and Kagome, titled _Buddy System._ Onto the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 3: Time is Money

Kagome shifted around in her seat, feeling her bottom start to get sore from sitting around for too long. She hated when Inuyasha was on set filming because she was bored, but she loved it at the same time because she had so little work to do.

She eyed the platter of donuts to her right. Well, she was doing _some_ work. Eating donuts required exercising her mouth. No easy feat, if she were to say so herself.

Taking a large bite out of a glazed donut, she watched as Inuyasha fought Koga Ookami, another action movie star, on set. The media always pinned the two as rivals when the bond between them was closer to that of cousins who were the same age and were always compared to one another_. Hate… hate… hate… tolerance. Yeah, that pretty much sums their relationship up. And if I were to even suggest that they tolerated one another, they would go right back to being hateful!_

"Enjoying that donut, I see," a male voice playfully chuckled in Kagome's ear.

"Bankotsu! Would you quit sneaking up on a girl like that?" Bankotsu, one of Jakotsu's six brothers, was the screenwriter of the film Inuyasha was currently sparring Koga for. He was a devilish sort of handsome, with long black hair usually braided down his back, and a perpetual smirk on his face.

"I like it when you're flustered," he winked.

Kagome slapped him playfully. "Oh quit it, will you? Why don't you go hit on some other helpless manager?"

"So you admit you're helpless to my charms?"

"More like helpless to feeling sorry for how lame you are," she stuck her tongue out at him. "Come on, Bankotsu, I am trying to enjoy my donut here!"

He laughed. "Alright, alright. So how have you been, 'Gome?"

Though he always made a pass at her, Bankotsu was a great conversationalist. The two were actually rather good friends, seeing as they ran in the same circles. "I've been alright, Bankotsu, busy managing Inuyasha over there as always. You know that's a 24/7 job." She laughed. "How are you?"

"Well, Renkotsu has been running with the wrong crowd lately so it looks like one of us will have to bail him out of jail... again. I'm working on a new script for another movie by Midoriko. The movie is going to be called _A Feudal Fairytale_ I think. I'm pretty excited about how it's coming along so far!"

"I'm happy for you. I can't wait to see the finished product. Will Inuyasha be starring in this one as well?" It was known that Midoriko had a soft spot for the half-demon actor and tended to cast Inuyasha as her male protagonist in her movies, the current one they were on set for included.

"It's not set in stone… But you know there's a 99% chance that he will be."

"Figures." She laughed.

A comfortable silence fell between the two of them as they watched Inuyasha and Koga fight one another against the green screen.

"So…"

"So…?"

"I was wondering what you were doing Friday night."

Kagome blushed. "I mean, I have to see if anything comes up with Inuyasha. It's only Monday, so there's still time for someone to schedule something…"

"How about Wednesday?"

She eyed him suspiciously, blush still in place. "Are you trying to ask me out on a date?"

He laughed confidently. "I've only tried for the past two years." At this, she blushed. She could be pretty dense when it came to guys, and he found it utterly adorable. "Come on, how about Wednesday?"

Kagome took out her phone and checked her schedule for Wednesday. "Looks like I'm only free from noon 'til 2 p.m. That enough time?"

"Plenty." He smirked and gave her a wink. "I'll pick you up?"

"Inuyasha's place."

"Okay, I'll pick you up at 12 from Inuyasha's. See you 'Gome." He smiled at her, rather than smirked, and she felt her stomach flip flop a little.

She bit into her donut, slightly stunned by what had just transpired between the two of them. _He's been trying to ask me out for two years? Either I am dense as concrete or he has a horrible way of framing questions…_

* * *

Inuyasha looked up from his place on set and saw Kagome laugh and then later blush as she talked to Bankotsu. He growled in his chest and narrowly missed a punch from Koga. _I hate that bastard…_

Now, Inuyasha had his reasons for feeling so strongly about Bankotsu:

One, he didn't like Bankotsu because the prick was related to creepy Jakotsu.

Two, Bankotsu was distracting Kagome from her job. She wasn't on set just to eat donuts and sit around all day!

Three, Bankotsu was just the epitome of bastard…li-ness…

His ears strained to catch tidbits of their conversation. He was able to make out "'Gome," "Inuyasha," "schedule," "Wednesday"…

Was that bastard trying to ask Kagome out on Wednesday?! And damn it, would he stop calling her 'Gome?!

_No way that's gonna happen! The wench needs to do her job. Wednesday is still a workday, and I don't pay her to go on dates with annoying screenwriters!_

He growled and tried to focus his mind on the task at hand before Koga showed him up on set. He was _not_ going to be made a fool by this wimpy wolf because stupid Kagome wasn't doing her job!

He made up his mind. Something had to be done. He would have to figure out what the plans for Wednesday would be and then make sure Kagome didn't have any spare time to spend with stupid Bankotsu.

After all, time is money, and his money is precious.

* * *

"Oi, Kagome, what's the schedule for Tuesday?" Inuyasha congratulated himself for being smart enough to ask about Tuesday first, so as not to be arouse his manager's suspicion.

"Well, first you've got a press conference at 11, then…" He tuned her out as she spoke, checking a text message that appeared on his phone.

'_Hey, Inuyasha! The school is hosting a fundraising event on Wednesday, and it would be a great help if you could come by for even a little bit. It ends at 5 p.m. I know you're busy filming and all, but maybe you could find some time to fit us little people into your schedule :P –Sango'_

"…and lastly you've got a business dinner with Hojo at 6:30, to discuss a potential advertisement deal."

"How about Wednesday?"

"Well, you're gonna be on set from 9 until 12. Um… We're both free from 12 until 2… and you've got a photoshoot for GQ at 2:30, then—"

"We're not free from 12 to 2 anymore!"

Kagome looked puzzled. "Huh?"

"I… uh… I'm going to volunteer. At Sango's school! From 12 'til 2. She said she has a job for you, too, if you weren't busy." He looked at her square in the eye, so she wouldn't call him out on his bluff.

"You want to volunteer… at an elementary school…"

"Yeah well, I figured it would be nice to have fans of all ages—would you quit looking at me like I grew purple stripes on my face or something?!"

Kagome laughed. "I'm sorry, it's just very strange to hear you say such a smart reason for doing something so uncharacteristically charitable of you!" She held her hands up in defense. "Okay, tell Sango I'll help out with whatever she needs me to." _If Bankotsu can wait 2 years, he can definitely wait 2 more days. These kids are way more important than some date._

Inuyasha texted Sango back. '_Kagome and I will be there from 12 til 2. –Inuyasha'_

After sending the message, he looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Kagome's message to Bankotsu. '_Hey Bankotsu, I'll have to call off our lunch date on Wednesday. I'm gonna be volunteering with Inuyasha to help a friend out. I'm sorry :( Reschedule?"_

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at the last tidbit. Now, he would have to find some way to make sure the damn wench wouldn't be wasting his precious time and money whenever this rescheduled date would come up. Would his work ever end? Leave it to him to choose a ramen waitress for his manager…

He grumbled outwardly, but mentally, he rejoiced. _At least for now, Inuyasha: 1, Bankotsu: 0._

* * *

A/N: I know this is a bit short, but it's more of a filler chapter. Again, sorry for the late update! I know where I'll be going with the next chapter, so I don't think you'll be waiting as long. Let me know how you liked the chapter :)


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